Holy Trinity CE Primary School

Holy Trinity CE Primary School Inspection report Unique Reference Number 106244 Local authority Tameside Inspection number 336642 Inspection dates 25 26 February 2010 Reporting inspector Allan Torr HMI This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 3 11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 224 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mr Edward Hartley Headteacher Mrs Kathleen Menmuir Date of previous school inspection November 2006 School address Kenyon Street Ashton-Under-Lyne OL6 7DU Telephone number 0161 330 1065 Fax number 0161 339 8298 Email address kathleen.menmuir@holytrinity.tameside.sch.uk Age group 3 11 Inspection date(s) 25 26 February 2010 Inspection number 336642

Inspection report: Holy Trinity CE Primary School, 25 26 February 2010 2 of 14 The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It rates council children's services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. Royal Exchange Buildings St Ann's Square Manchester M2 7LA T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Crown copyright 2010

Inspection report: Holy Trinity CE Primary School, 25 26 February 2010 3 of 14 Introduction This inspection was carried out by one of Her Majesty s Inspectors and two additional inspectors. Approximately seven hours was spent looking at learning which is around 60% of the inspection time. Inspectors observed all eight of the teachers teaching plus some other adults leading sessions and groups. Inspectors held meetings with staff, four groups of pupils, parents, two school governors and a representative from the local authority. They observed the school s work, and looked at a range of pupils work and school documents including improvement plans and policies. One hundred and one parent questionnaires were returned. The inspection team reviewed many aspects of the school s work. It looked in detail at the following: the progress of different groups of pupils how well pupils are prepared for their future the impact of the absence of staff on leaders ability to make improvements. Information about the school Holy Trinity is an average sized primary school. The overwhelming majority of pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds. Pakistani and Bangladeshi heritage pupils are the main groups and there are a few pupils from White British and other ethnic groups. A few pupils are from families of asylum seekers and refugees and arrive at the school part-way through Key Stage 2. Almost every pupil speaks English as an additional language and the proportion has grown in each of the last three years. Some pupils arrive in Nursery and throughout Key Stage 2 with no English at all. The school has almost double the national average of pupils entitled to free school meals, at 33.8%. There are more girls than boys, although there are far more boys than girls in Year 1 and significantly more in Year 6. The proportion of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is below the national average. The Early Years Foundation Stage consists of a Nursery and a Reception class and there are significantly more girls within these classes. There is a Breakfast and after-school club on site. The school achieved the Activemark in 2009 and Healthy School's Award in 2008. At the time of the inspection five out of the eight permanent teachers were absent. Their posts were filled by supply and temporary contract teachers, three of whom were new to teaching.

Inspection report: Holy Trinity CE Primary School, 25 26 February 2010 4 of 14 Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms Inspection judgements Overall effectiveness: how good is the school 3 The school's capacity for sustained improvement 3 Main findings Holy Trinity is a satisfactory school. The school is a welcoming, calm and very friendly place to be. All pupils are included and valued regardless of their backgrounds. This is reflected in a comment made by a pupil, which is typical of comments made by parents, staff and other pupils, 'We know the differences but we don t see the differences'. Some aspects of the school s work are outstanding. The promotion of community cohesion is innovative and outstanding and has an excellent impact on the school and local community. This led in 2009 to a very large reduction in anti-social behaviour and friction in the wider community between different ethnicities and faiths. The school s work with parents, the before- and after- school club and the care and support for pupils and their families are outstanding. As a result, there has been a reduction in persistent absence, barriers to learning have been broken down and pupils progress has improved. From their exceptionally low starting points in the Nursery class, pupils make good progress during their time at school although by the end of Year 6, attainment is still significantly below average. It is particularly low in English and some groups such as girls, more-able pupils and pupils from a Pakistani heritage attain standards well below the national average. Over the last three years, the progress of Bengali heritage pupils has improved strongly and the progress of girls and Pakistani heritage pupils is beginning to improve. In many lessons observed by inspectors, pupils attainment was well below the standard expected for their age. This is because pupils were not challenged or guided enough in these lessons and the work was sometimes too easy. Pupils progress has been hampered in recent weeks because of significant staff absence and a large proportion of temporary teachers. These teachers, some of who are new to teaching, are doing a satisfactory job in teaching pupils until permanent staff return. Teaching during the inspection was satisfactory overall, but there were lessons in which teaching was inadequate. This is because teachers sometimes made errors in their teaching, they did not have high enough expectations of pupils and the activities did not enable pupils to move onto the next level. Some teachers did not know well enough how to move pupils forward in their learning, particularly in subjects other than mathematics and English. The curriculum is satisfactory. Well chosen trips, visits, extra-curricular activities and visitors make a good contribution to pupils progress and development. In subjects other than English and mathematics, there are not enough opportunities for pupils to extend and improve their writing and subject skills. Some activities pupils are asked

Inspection report: Holy Trinity CE Primary School, 25 26 February 2010 5 of 14 to complete do not enable them to think, explain or to investigate, and this slows their progress. The headteacher provides excellent leadership and has dealt very well with the turbulence in staffing to maintain the quality of the school s provision. Teachers have successfully dealt with the two issues for improvement identified at the last inspection, although there is still a way to go to improve the effectiveness of marking so that pupils are clear about what they need to do to improve. Senior leaders have an accurate view of the school s strengths and they are having a positive impact on tackling the school s weaknesses. The school s capacity to improve is satisfactory rather than good because many of the subject and middle leaders are absent and there are a few longstanding vacancies on the governing body. What does the school need to do to improve further? Raise standards in all subjects, and particularly in English, by: - providing challenge for more-able pupils in lessons so a greater proportion attain the higher levels - providing more opportunities to extend pupils writing and subject skills - providing activities that challenge pupils to think and investigate. Improve the quality of teaching and learning, by: - raising teachers expectations of what pupils can do - providing pupils with activities that will move them on to the next level - increasing teachers subject knowledge. About 40% of schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory may receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection. Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 3 In the lessons observed by inspectors and in pupils work, it is clear that attainment for all groups of pupils is well below the national average. However, during the inspection the school was operating under exceptional circumstances due to the amount of staff absence and temporary teachers. From their starting points, pupils make good progress, particularly in their speaking, listening and language skills. This is because they are involved and active in lessons; have many opportunities to talk to and work in pairs and in groups, and adults take time to extend pupils ability to speak correctly in sentences. This is particularly effective in helping the very high proportion of pupils who have English as an additional language to make good progress. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress. This is because they work in small groups led by well qualified and skilled teaching assistants, some of whom are qualified teachers. More-able pupils make less progress, particularly in subjects other than English and mathematics. In physical education, however, all pupils make good progress in their skills and understanding. Pupils development of work and skills for their future is satisfactory. Attendance is just below the national average. Pupils have a good ability to perform and to give

Inspection report: Holy Trinity CE Primary School, 25 26 February 2010 6 of 14 presentations. Pupils writing skills, however, are low because there are not enough opportunities in lessons to extend these skills. Pupils respect people s feelings, are polite, considerate and have time to reflect. Pupils have a good understanding of how to lead a healthy and active lifestyle. This has begun to have an impact on their lives at home; parents said their children come home keen to try fruit and vegetables and to take exercise. Pupils have a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe in a range of situations. They were particularly knowledgeable about how to ensure they are safe when using the internet. Pupils make a good contribution to the school and to the wider community. They represent their school at a variety of events, raise funds for a large range of good causes and mix very well with pupils from a school from a white monocultural area of the town. These are the grades for pupils' outcomes Pupils' achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning 3 Taking into account: Pupils' attainment 1 4 The quality of pupils' learning and their progress 2 The quality of learning for pupils with special educational needs and/or 2 disabilities and their progress The extent to which pupils feel safe 2 Pupils' behaviour 2 The extent to which pupils adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which pupils contribute to the school and wider community 2 The extent to which pupils develop workplace and other skills that will 3 contribute to their future economic well-being Taking into account: Pupils' attendance 1 3 The extent of pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 How effective is the provision? The school provides outstanding care, guidance and support for pupils and their families. For example, by working with outside agencies, such as medical professionals and with parents, they have reduced pupils absence. The school has been very successful in creating an inviting and welcoming environment. Parents are welcomed into classrooms in the morning and receive regular and frequent feedback about the development and progress of their children. This enables them to provide effective support at home. The school is particularly successful in integrating and supporting pupils suffering from trauma, those with little or no English and those recently arriving into the country. This smooth integration provides the basis for pupils to make good progress. The before- and after-school club is outstanding. It makes a real difference to pupils lives and to their achievement. Although pupils make good progress over time, because of significant staff absence there has been considerable disruption to teaching. As a result, the quality of teaching and learning during the inspection was just satisfactory. Some teachers made mistakes in their spoken Standard English and made some errors in their teaching of science and mathematics. The pace of learning in some lessons was slow 1 The grades for attainment and attendance are: 1 is high; 2 is above average; 3 is broadly average; and 4 is low

Inspection report: Holy Trinity CE Primary School, 25 26 February 2010 7 of 14 because teachers were unsure about how to stretch pupils skills and understanding, particularly for more-able pupils. In almost all lessons, adults relationships with pupils were a strength and this helped pupils to gain in confidence and self-esteem. In some classes, adults asked a good range of questions which made pupils think, explain their reasoning and to extend their skills, but this was not a consistent feature of the lessons observed during the inspection. Teachers assessed and monitored pupils learning during the lesson, but sometimes their expectations of what pupils were capable of was too low. This meant that there were missed opportunities to provide activities that would take pupils onto the next level and sometimes too few opportunities to write. Pupils books had too little work in them and in some subjects the activities sometimes did not meet pupils needs or interests. Other aspects of the curriculum such as physical education and speaking and listening were covered well. The school works very hard to persuade parents, sometimes through home visits, to allow pupils to attend residential and other trips. These visits, in addition to an extensive range of visitors, inspire pupils and raise their aspirations. After a visit from an author, for example, a group of more-able pupils decided they wanted to be authors in the future. These are the grades for the quality of provision The quality of teaching 3 Taking into account: The use of assessment to support learning 3 The extent to which the curriculum meets pupils' needs, including, where 3 relevant, through partnerships The effectiveness of care, guidance and support 1 How effective are leadership and management? The outstanding promotion of community cohesion is having a very positive impact on the school and local community. The staff have organised joint residential visits, joint working and events between Holy Trinity and another school located in a nearby community which has a predominantly White British population. In the past, there has been significant friction and anti-social behaviour between these two communities. Last year these incidents reduced by almost 75%. The after-school club has employed and worked very successfully with young people and adults from the Holy Trinity community. The school has also worked very successfully with two mosques to bring together the Pakistani and Bengali communities. The school has worked very well with families to break down barriers to learning and to prevent discrimination. This has been successful and as a result, the gap between the achievements of different groups is closing. The school has good, thorough and robust safeguarding procedures and these have been improved further because the staff actively seek the views of parents and take action based on their views. The school and subject improvement plans have clear priorities for improvement. The success criteria, however, are imprecise which hinders leaders ability to measure and evaluate the impact of their actions. Senior leaders satisfactorily manage and improve teaching, but their success has been hindered because of the large amount of temporary staff. Half-termly pupils' progress meetings have helped to focus leaders actions on improving learning.

Inspection report: Holy Trinity CE Primary School, 25 26 February 2010 8 of 14 These are the grades for the leadership and management The effectiveness of leadership and management in embedding ambition and driving improvement Taking into account: The leadership and management of teaching and learning 3 The effectiveness of the governing body in challenging and supporting the 3 school so that weaknesses are tackled decisively and statutory responsibilities met The effectiveness of the school's engagement with parents and carers 1 The effectiveness of partnerships in promoting learning and well-being 3 The effectiveness with which the school promotes equality of opportunity and 2 tackles discrimination The effectiveness of safeguarding procedures 2 The effectiveness with which the school promotes community cohesion 1 The effectiveness with which the school deploys resources to achieve value for 3 money Early Years Foundation Stage Children make satisfactory progress from their exceptionally low starting points and leave at the end of Reception with skills and knowledge well below those typical of three- and four-year olds. Relationships between adults and children are strong and this enables the children to grow in confidence and to feel secure. They learn happily in a warm friendly atmosphere which helps children of all backgrounds mix together harmoniously. There is a satisfactory mix between adult-led and child-led activities and an appropriate emphasis on teaching communication, language and literacy skills. There has been some disruption to the teaching team because of staff absence which has also affected the quality of the provision. Information gained from assessments is not always used well enough by adults to plan activities to extend the needs of individuals and groups of children. This hinders good progress. The classes are managed effectively and run smoothly day-to-day. The quality of care and support for children and their families is excellent. Parents are made to feel welcomed and valued and this relationship with adults has a good impact on pupils well-being. The leadership of the Early Years Foundation Stage is effective. There is an honest and robust evaluation of the quality of the provision and there are signs this is helping to improve the quality of children s outcomes. These are the grades for the Early Years Foundation Stage Overall effectiveness of the Early Years Foundation stage 3 Taking into account: Outcomes for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage 3 The quality of provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage 3 The effectiveness of leadership and management in the Early Years Foundation 3 Stage 3

Inspection report: Holy Trinity CE Primary School, 25 26 February 2010 9 of 14 Views of parents and carers Parents were overwhelmingly positive about the school. They said the school staff work hard to make them feel included, valued and welcomed, for example, greeting them and encouraging them to come into classrooms in the morning. They particularly like the way in which the staff come into the community to speak to parents and to find out about and act on their views. Some parents benefit from classes in English and cookery, and trips organised by the school. Parents said their children were very well supported in helping them to be safe and to be healthy. They gave examples of how the school s positive encouragement was having an impact on pupils diet. Parents said they felt informed about their children s progress and about what they were learning in lessons and this helped them to support their children s learning at home.

Inspection report: Holy Trinity CE Primary School, 25 26 February 2010 10 of 14 Responses from parents and carers to Ofsted's questionnaire Ofsted invited all the registered parents and carers of pupils registered at Holy Trinity CE Primary School to complete a questionnaire about their views of the school. In the questionnaire, parents and carers were asked to record how strongly they agreed with 13 statements about the school. The inspection team received 101 completed questionnaires by the end of the on-site inspection. In total, there are 224 pupils registered at the school. Statements Strongly Strongly Agree Disagree agree disagree Total % Total % Total % Total % My child enjoys school 70 69 27 27 1 1 0 0 The school keeps my child safe 68 67 33 33 0 0 0 0 The school informs me about my child's progress 64 63 34 34 1 1 0 0 My child is making enough progress at this school 56 55 40 40 5 5 0 0 The teaching is good at this school 59 58 37 37 2 2 0 0 The school helps me to support my child's learning 56 55 44 44 1 1 0 0 The school helps my child to have a healthy lifestyle 54 53 44 44 0 0 0 0 The school makes sure that my child is well prepared for the future (for example changing year group, changing school, and for children who are finishing school, entering further or 51 50 42 42 2 2 0 0 higher education, or entering employment) The school meets my child's particular needs 51 50 50 50 0 0 0 0 The school deals effectively with unacceptable 55 54 39 39 3 3 1 1 behaviour The school takes account of my suggestions and 58 57 40 40 1 1 0 0 concerns The school is led and managed effectively 61 60 37 37 1 1 0 0 Overall, I am happy with my child's experience at this school 68 67 33 33 0 0 0 0 The table above summarises the responses that parents and carers made to each statement. The percentages indicate the proportion of parents and carers giving that response out of the total number of completed questionnaires. Where one or more parents and carers chose not to answer a particular question, the percentages will not add up to 100%.

Inspection report: Holy Trinity CE Primary School, 25 26 February 2010 11 of 14 Glossary What inspection judgements mean Grade Judgement Description Grade 1 Outstanding These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its pupils' needs. Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well. Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its pupils. Grade 4 Inadequate These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement in order to meet the needs of its pupils. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves. Overall effectiveness of schools inspected between September 2007 and July 2008 Overall effectiveness judgement (percentage of schools) Type of Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate school Nursery schools 39 58 3 0 Primary schools 13 50 33 4 Secondary schools 17 40 34 9 Sixth forms 18 43 37 2 Special schools 26 54 18 2 Pupil referral units 7 55 30 7 All schools 15 49 32 5 New school inspection arrangements were introduced on 1 September 2009. This means that inspectors now make some additional judgements that were not made previously. The data in the table above were reported in The Annual Report of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills 2007/08. Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100. Secondary school figures include those that have sixth forms, and sixth form figures include only the data specifically for sixth form inspection judgements.

Inspection report: Holy Trinity CE Primary School, 25 26 February 2010 12 of 14 Common terminology used by inspectors Achievement: Attainment: Capacity to improve: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning, development or training. the standard of the pupils' work shown by test and examination results and in lessons. the proven ability of the school to continue improving. Inspectors base this judgement on what the school has accomplished so far and on the quality of its systems to maintain improvement. Leadership and management: the contribution of all the staff with responsibilities, not just the headteacher, to identifying priorities, directing and motivating staff and running the school. Learning: Overall effectiveness: how well pupils acquire knowledge, develop their understanding, learn and practise skills and are developing their competence as learners. inspectors form a judgement on a school's overall effectiveness based on the findings from their inspection of the school. The following judgements, in particular, influence what the overall effectiveness judgement will be. The school's capacity for sustained improvement. Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils. The quality of teaching. The extent to which the curriculum meets pupils' needs, including, where relevant, through partnerships. The effectiveness of care, guidance and support. Progress: the rate at which pupils are learning in lessons and over longer periods of time. It is often measured by comparing the pupils' attainment at the end of a key stage with their attainment when they started.

Inspection report: Holy Trinity CE Primary School, 25 26 February 2010 13 of 14 This letter is provided for the school, parents and carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted's main findings from the inspection of their school. 1 March 2010 Dear Pupils Inspection of Holy Trinity CE Primary, Ashton-Under-Lyne, OL6 7DU You may remember I visited Holy Trinity recently with some inspectors to inspect your school. Thank you for showing us your work and for sharing your opinions with us. In particular, we would like to thank the Global Gang, Eco Council, Charity and other groups for meeting with us. We took notice of your comments and this letter is to explain to you what we found. You have a good understanding about how to stay safe, particularly when using the internet, and you have a good understanding of how to live an active and healthy lifestyle. It was very clear from what you said that your opinions are listened to and acted on by adults and you are given the chance to improve your school and local community. Some of you told us you find the work easy and now having watched some of your lessons and looked at your books, we agree with you. We have, therefore, asked the school to improve your lessons to make them more challenging and to give you more activities that will help you move up to the next level. We have also asked the school to work with your teachers to improve their understanding of how to teach lessons that will extend your skills in each subject. Overall, we judged your school to be satisfactory. The levels you attain by the end of Year 6 could be higher, particularly in English. We have asked the school to improve the challenge and difficulty in lessons so more of you reach higher levels. We have also asked the school to spend more time giving you exciting opportunities to write in each subject. Some things the school does are outstanding. The care and support they give you so you are able to learn is excellent. The school also is very effective in bringing the community together and does an outstanding job in working with your parents. I wish you all the best for the future and hope that you will help your teachers improve the school by trying your very best. Yours sincerely Mr Allan Torr Her Majesty's Inspector

Inspection report: Holy Trinity CE Primary School, 25 26 February 2010 14 of 14 Any complaints about the inspection or the report should be made following the procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.